Traditional uses of medicinal plants among the rural communities of Churu district in the Thar Desert, India
Parveen ∗ , B. Upadhyay, Shikha Roy, Ashwani Kumar 1
Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302004, India
Abstract The traditional uses of medicinal plants in healthcare practices are providing clues to new areas of research; hence its importance is now well recognized. However, information on the uses of indigenous plants for medicine is not well documented from many rural areas of Rajasthan including Churu district. The study aimed to look into the diversity of plant resources that are used by local people for curing various ailments. Questionnaire surveys, participatory observations and field visits were planned to elicit information on the uses of various plants. It was found that 68 plant species are commonly used by the local people for curing various diseases. In most of the cases (31%) leaves were used. The interviewees mentioned 188 plant usages. Those most frequently reported had therapeutic value for treating fever, rheumatism, diarrhea, asthma and piles. The knowledge about the total number of medicinal plants available in that area and used by the interviewees was positively correlated with people’s age, indicating that this ancient knowledge tends to disappear in the younger generation.
Keywords: Tradational uses; Ethanobotanical survey; Churu; Thar Desert
1. Introduction Out of the total 4,20,000 flowering plants reported from the world (Govaerts, 2001) more than 50,000 are used for medicinal purposes (Schippmann et al., 2002).
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In India, more than 43% of the total flowering plants are reported to be of medicinal importance (Pushpangadan, 1995).
Utilization of plants for medicinal purposes in India has been documented long back in ancient literature (Tulsidas, 1631: Samvat; Charak, Drdhbala, 1996).
However, organized studies in this direction were initiated in 1956 (Rao, 1996) and off late such studies are gaining recognition and popularity due to fading of traditional knowledge and reducing plant population. Right from its beginning, the documentation of traditional knowledge especially on the medicinal uses of plants, has provided many important drugs of the modern day (Anon., 1994; Cox and Ballick, 1994; Fabricant and Farnsworth, 2001).
Even today this area holds much more hidden treasure, as almost 80%
∗ 1
Corresponding author. Tel.: +919414057484. E-mail address: Parveen [email protected] ( Parveen).
Address: 2-Kha-14, Jawaharnagar, Jaipur, India.
of the human population in developing countries is dependent on plant resources for healthcare (Farnsworth et al., 1985).
In the rural areas of Churu, plants are the major source of local medicine for their well being. Information on folk medicinal uses of the plants has recently become of renewed interest in search for new therapeutic agent. A vast knowledge on medicinal plants exists as oral among the folklore and primitive societies of India, where a large number of potent medicinal herbs are found growing wild. Although, a great amount of ethnobotanical research work has been undertaken in various pockets of tribal and rural population scattered throughout the country, there is still much to be discovered. Ethnobotanical explorations play vital role in bringing to light information about such plant species from our rich flora that can be source of safer and cheaper potent drugs for the benefit of mankind. In country like India, according to reasonable estimates, 70 percent inhabitants still rely on herbs (Singh and Gautam, 1997).
Nation witnesses 2500 species of plants from about 1000 genera which are used by traditional healers (Chandel et al., 1996).
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Ethnobotanical studies of different areas of Rajasthan state has been carried out by many workers of this field (Singh and Pandey, 1980, 1983, 1998; Joshi, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995; Mishra and Kumar, 2000; Trivedi and Nargas, 2000; Sharma, 2002a,b; Trivedi, 2002)
Fig. 1. Map of Rajasthan showing the study area.
however, information on the uses of plants as traditional medicines has not been documented from different sectors of the district. Keeping this in view, the present study was initiated, with an aim to document the knowledge of rural people and folklore on the utilization of medicinal plants in remote areas of Churu district. 1.1. Study site Churu district is situated in the middle portion of the NorthEast of Rajasthan between 27◦ 24 N to 29◦ 00 N latitude and 73◦ 51 E to 75◦ 41 E longitude, occupying an area of about 13,858 km2 (Fig. 1).
The district is a part of the Thar Desert in India, situated 400 m above the sea level. The district is well known for huge diurnal and seasonal temperature variations from −3 ◦ C in winters to 50 ◦ C in summers with shifting sand dunes, erratic and scanty rainfall, and high wind velocity, having thorny and poor vegetation. The sandy soil and bright sunlight are the two important natural resources abundantly available in this region which are responsible for the development of the desert vegetation having variable medicinal properties. Generally the folk people are well acquainted with these medicinal properties (Jain, 1991; Kaushik and Dhiman, 2000).
2. Methodology 2.1. Surveys In order to document the utilization of indigenous medicinal plants, survey was carried out during the year, 2005 in the remote areas of Churu district in the Thar Desert, India. The survey was
spread across the seasons so as to get maximum information. The information on medicinal uses of the indigenous plants have been described after gathering informations from general local people, experienced aged rural folk, traditional herbal medicine practitioners and local herbal drug sellers and concluded them by consulting literature. A total of 300 inhabitants were interviewed. The randomly selected 186 men and 114 women of different ages from about 25 years and above (x = 57.92) were interviewed in local language, i.e. Shekhawati. In addition direct plant observation and identification was done with the help of local healers known as ‘gunis’. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the resource persons using standard methods (Martin, 1995).
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Information on local name of the plant, plant parts used for curing disease their recipes and mode of administration were recorded. Plants collected during the surveys were identified with the help of published regional flora (Bhandari, 1990; Shetty and Singh, 1993; Sharma, 2002a,b) and by comparing voucher specimens with identified herbarium collections in the herbarium, Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India which is Internationally recognized herbarium known by acronym RUBL. From the collected data a list of plants of different families with their traditional uses, plant part used, their recipes and mode of administration is prepared in alphabetical order of families and name of the plants in a family (Table 1).
2.2. Use frequency The use frequency per species was estimated by calculating the proportion of plants cited and utilized in relation to the total number of interviewees.
Table 1 Inventory of local knowledge regarding medicinal plants of Churu district in the Thar Desert, India Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Achyranthrus aspera Linn. (Lathjira) Part used Disease cured by the plant Cough Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
Acyranthaceae
Root
Haemorrhoids Amaranthaceae Aerva tomentosa Forssk (Bui, Buida) Flowers, seeds Headache, rheumatism Swellings
Amaranthus spinosus L. (Kateli)
Whole plant, roots
Boils Toothache Snake bite
Piles
Amaryllidaceae
Curculigo orchiodis Haertn. (Kalimusli)
Roots
Asthma, jaundice, diarrhea and colic
Apocynaceae
Carissa congesta L. (Karaunda) Nerium indicum Mill. (Kaner)
Roots
Rheumatism
Leaves roots
Chancre, ulcers and leprosy Piles Ring worm and other skin diseases Termination of pregnancy
Aristolochiaceae
Asclepidaceae
Aristolochia bracteolata Lamk. (Kiramar) Calotropis procera R.Br. (Aak)
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Leaves
Eczema
Roots, flowers
Malarial fever
Cholera
Asteraceae
Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forsk.) Decne (Khimp) Artemisia scoparia Waldst, and kit (Bana, Dona)
Whole plant
Wound healing
Whole plant
Burns
A pinch of root powder in combination with pepper and honey is given in cough Powdered roots mixed with honey are given internally Woolly seeds stuffed in pillows relieve headache and protective against rheumatism Decoction of flowers and seeds applied externally against swellings Root paste is applied externally on boils Decoction of herb is used for mouth wash for toothache Drinking of root extract with the same of Convolvulus trupethum helps one to overcome the effects of poisons of snake and insects A piece (2 cm) of root in black thread is tied on left arm of a pregnant to cure piles The tubers are administered as follows: tubers are washed and cut into slices and dried and than given in does of 180 gains beaten up with an equal quantity of sugar in a glass of milk until it forms thick mucilage The roots in combination with other roots are used in rheumatism The roots are made into a paste with water and are applied externally A paste of roots is applied externally on piles The paste of its leaves with oil of its root bark is used The roots is used for procuring abortion both by local application and internal administration Bruised leaf mixed with castor oil applied to eczema on children’s legs The decoction of root bark along with black pepper is used twice a day for 3 day Powdered flowers with black pepper are given with ash of barley seeds The bruised stem and leaves are used to promote healing of wounds Smoke is considered good for burns Juice of plant is used as a cure for pain in ear. The fresh plant mixed with sesamum oil is applied externally
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Earache Eclipta alba (Bhringaraja) Leaf, whole plant Elephantiasis
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Table 1 (Continued ) Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Part used Disease cured by the plant Jaundice and fever Tonic Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
Bignoniaceae
Tecomella undulata (Sm.) Seem (Rohida) Raphanus sativus Linn. (Muli)
Bark
Syphilis and leucorrhoea Leucoderma
Brassicaceae
Leaves, seeds
Piles
Cacataceae
Opuntia ficus-indica (Nagphani)
Fruits, leaves
Dysuria, Calculai, Strangury Asthma and whooping cough Scorbutic ulcers
The juice is administered in teaspoonful doses The expressed juice of the leaves in combination with ‘ajavain’ seed is used as tonic The bark of young branches is used as a remedy for syphilis and leucorrhoea The seeds pasted with Achyranthes aspera in water are applied The leaves are dried in shade and made into a powder mixed with equal parts of ‘shakkar’ and are given for 40 days The juice of its leaves it given Fruits baked or made into syrup are a good remedy in asthma and whooping cough The leaves made into a pulp are used as a poultice to allay heat and inflammation in scarbutic ulcers The stem is used in pyorrhoea and rheumatism Paste of coal from wood is applied externally to muscular injuries Half cup tea of the decoction of the seeds and leaves is given daily Fresh leaves are eaten as vegetable The juice of the fresh leaves mixed with sesamum oil is used Powdered seeds are used The infusion of seeds is used A tea of the leaves and plant is used to relieve stomach pains The juice of the plant about two teaspoonfuls is given to treat haematuria The juice of plant is given to woman once only after menses to make the woman barren forever The leaves are made into cigarettes and smoked in chronic bronchitis and asthma The fresh flowers with sugar are eaten Fresh Indrayan roots are boiled with cow’s milk and administered twice a day Fresh leaf extract is applied to affected area externally Fresh root paste is applied externally Root paste of Indrayan and Ashgandh mixed with honey is administered orally Paste of root and raw fruits is applied externally
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Capparidaceae
Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew. (Ker)
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Stem
Pyorrhoea and rheumatism Muscular injuries
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Cleome gynandra Linn. (Hulhul)
Leaves, seeds
Typhus fever Intestinal worms Prurigo Piles Cough
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Chenopodiaceae Convolvulaceae
Chenopodium album L. (Bathua) Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. (Amarbel)
Leaves Whole plant
Stomach pains Haematuria
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Prevent conception forever Evolvulus alsinoides L. (Shankh pushpi) Leaves, flowers Chronic bronchitis and asthma Brain tonic Cucurbitaceae Citullus colocynthis (L.) Schrader (Tumba) Roots, fruits, leaves Amenorrhoea
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Leucoderma Paronychia Rheumatism
Boils and carbuncles constipation
Table 1 (Continued ) Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Part used Disease cured by the plant Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
Citrullus vulgaris (Thumb.) Matsum and Nakai (Tarbooz)
Fruits, seeds
Typhus fever
Decoction of fresh fruit is administered orally at bed time The juice of the fruit is given as an antiseptic in typhus fever An emulsion of the seeds is made into a poultice with the pounded leaves and applied hot in cases of intestinal inflammation The whole fruit is eaten daily Bruised seeds are applied as poultice in cases of tympanitis in children The leaves boiled and mixed with cummin seeds, roasted and powdered, are administered The fruits and seeds are used A decoction of leaves mixed with sugar is given Seed oil is used The paste of roots in water is applied externally The tender shoots are eaten as vegetable in constipation The juice of fresh leaves is dropped into eyes The pounded leaves are applied locally The root with equal parts of root of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Hemisdesmus indicus is given with milk, cummin and sugar The fruits are cooked with the whole plant of Raphanus sativus without salt and oil and are eaten with curd thrice a day for 3–7 days to cure piles The oil obtained from its seeds is used The whole plant combined with cinnamon, long pepper, rice and the oil of Hyrocarpus wightiana is employed externally The leaf juice is externally applied round the eyes One spoonful of fruit paste in water is taken internally A paste of the roots is applied externally over piles The decoction of leaves mixed with common salt is applied to scabies The infusion of leaves mixed with fenugreek seeds is given A ‘sherbat’ prepared from the fruits with lemon juice is taken The juice of the bark combined with honey and turmeric is used
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Intestinal inflammation
Cucumis melo (Roxb.) Duthie and Fuller (Kharbuja)
Fruits, seeds
Chronic eczema Tympanitis
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Cucumis sativus L.
Fruits, seeds, leaves
Throat affections
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(Khira) Lagenaria siceraria (Mal.) Standley (Kashiphal)
Leaves, seeds roots
Pitta, general debility Jaundice
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Rheumatism Headache Constipation Luffa acutangula (Linn) Roxb. (Kalitori) Leaves roots Granular conjunctivities. Splenitis, haemorrhoids, piles and leprosy Gonorrhoea
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Luffa aegyptica Mill. (Ghiatori)
Seeds, fruits
Piles
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Skin diseases Momordica charantia Linn. (Karela) Whole plant, leaves, fruits, roots Scabies and other cutaneous diseases
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Night blindness To reduce blood sugar Piles Euphorbiaceae Acalypha indica (Kuppi, Kokli) Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (Amala) Leaves Scabies
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Leaves, fruits, bark, seeds
Chronic dysentery Bacillary dysentery Gonorrhoea
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Table 1 (Continued ) Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Part used Disease cured by the plant Leucorrhoea Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
To stop nose bleeding
Eubhorbia hirta Linn. (Dhudhi)
Whole plant, leaves
Leucorrhoea
Cough, asthma
Jatropha curcas (Ratanjot)
Leaves
Dysentery, colic To promote lactation Gum boils
Jatropha gossipifolia (Ratanjot) Phyllanthus niruri Sensu Hook. f. (Bhuian anvala)
Leaves Leaves, latex
Guinea worm Skin affections, swelling and ulcers
Chronic dysentery Ricinus communis Linn (Erand) Leaves seeds Boil and carbuncle Rheumatism
Stomach-ache Fabaceae Acacia nilotica Delile (Kikar) Bark tender leaves, pods Ulcer Sore throat and toothache diarrhea and dysentery urinogenital diseases
The powder of seeds taken twice a day for a week to cure leucorrhoea Seeds fried in ghee and ground in ‘conjee’ are applied as ‘lep’ to the forehead to stop nose bleeding About 20 leaves are crushed and the extract is given orally with honey once a day in the morning The drug is administered in the form of liquid extract of tincture with labelia or senega in the treatment of coughs and asthma The juice of plant is used The leaves locally applied to the breasts The sticks of this plant are used as tooth brushes to strengthen the gum and to cure gum boils Leaves are tied locally in treatment of guinea worm Leaves mixed with salt applied locally to skin affections, swelling and ulcers in the form of poultice. The latex is beneficial in indolent ulcer Infusion of young tender leaves is given The leaves are tied on the boil and the carbuncle in order to burst it The seed paste as a poultice is applied on sores and gout or rheumatic swellings Infusion of the leaves is used Powder of bark is applied externally in ulcers The decoction of the bark is used as a gargle
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Albizia lebbeck (Linn.) Benth. (Siris)
Leaves, bark flowers
Night blindness To heal gums Boils, eruptions and swellings Leprous ulcers
An infusion of tender leaves is given orally. The decoction of its pods is beneficial Leaf juice is used as eye drop for night blindness Decoction of the bark is used as mouth wash The flowers are applied externally The powder root bark is applied externally as plaster. Gum is used internally in inflammation of intestinal mucosa and externally to cover inflamed surfaces as burns, sore nipples and nodular leprosy Seed oil is beneficial for cardiac patients and prevents heart attacks The leaves are warmed and tied over breast
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Acacia senegal Willd (Kumta)
Gum
Inflammation of intestinal mucosa, burns, sore nipples and nodular leprosy To prevent heart attacks Inflamed mammary glands
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Arachis hypogoea L. (Mung phali) Dalbergia sisoo Roxb. (Shisham)
Seeds
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Leaves, bark
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Table 1 (Continued ) Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Part used Disease cured by the plant Blood dysentery Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
Gonorrhea Piles Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce (Jaanti) Inflorescence, flowers Boils and skin diseases
To prevent miscarriage
Tephrosia hamiltonii (Sarphonka)
Root, stem
Headache
Spermatorrhoea
Snake bite Pyrrhoea Cholic
Gentianaceae
Enicostema hyssopitolium (Willd.) I.C. (Chota Chirayata) Leucas aspera Spreng (Paniharin) Ocimum sanctum L. (Tulsi)
Whole plant
Diabetes
The leaf juice mixed with sugar and curd is given to cure blood dysentery Decoction of leaves is used Dried and powdered bark is used in bleeding piles The ground inflorescence mixed with sugar in water is used for prevention of boils and skin diseases Flowers are pounded, mixed with sugar and eaten by women during pregnancy as a safe guard against miscarriage A decoction of the roots with ginger is consumed to relieve headache The root extract, one teaspoonful once a day along with seed paste is given for 15 days The powdered root bark along with black pepper is given The stem is used as tooth brush The bark of the root ground with a little black pepper is made into pills and given in refractory cholic The plant extract is useful against diabetes The whole plant is used The juice of leaves and flowers mixed with milk is given An infusion of leaves is applied externally to the skin Juice of leaves mixed with ginger is given The juice of leaves mixed with black pepper is given The leaf juice internally two times a day for 7 days The onions mixed with common salt are a domestic remedy in colic and scurvy Onions are eaten twice a day with two or three black peppers Aloe steeped with setmodia martima is drunk to ease swellings and dropsy The dried juice is used Crushed succulent leaves mixed with turmeric and the paste thus obtained applies on the eruptions The leaf juice along with sugar is administered One gram of fresh leaves and three black peppers are made into paste in 50 ml of cow’s milk and it is taken for 1 month. Decoction of leaves mixed with meat stew and taken orally
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Fever and malaria Lamiaceae Leaves, flowers Jaundice, fevers, ulcers, intestinal catarsh Ring worm and other cutaneous diseases Colic Intermittent fever Inflamed eyes Liliaceae Allium cepa L. (Pyaz) Bulbs Colic, scurvy
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Leaves
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Malarial fever Aloe barbadenesis Mill. (Ghikumari Ghikanwar) Fresh leaves Swellings and dropsy
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Leaf juice
Constipation Eruptions
Lytharaceae
Lawsonia intermis Linn. (Mehndi)
Leaves
Spermatorrhoea Anemia, oedema, jaundice
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Yellow fever
Table 1 (Continued ) Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Part used Disease cured by the plant Burns, small pox and scalds Boils, abscesses, adenitis, eczema and ulcers. Intestinal helminthiasis urinary calculi Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
Meliaceae
Azadirachta indica Juss (Neem)
Twigs, leaves
Decoction of the leaves is very useful The poultice of leaves is applied
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To strengthening teeth and gums To strengthening hairs
The tender leaves with piper nigrum are used The ashes of the leaves are taken with water The twigs are used as ‘Datun’ Aqueous extract of the leaves along with the leaves of ziziphus jujuba is used Stem juice is valued in high fever and given in jaundice either alone or mixed with honey Stem paste with a little ginger is given in urticasia Stem juice with sweet oil is administered in elephantiasis Juice of stem orally with honey Paste of plant and five seeds of pipper nigrum is administered orally once daily in morning The tender ends of hanging roots are given The tips of adventitious roots are crushed and boiled in cow’s milk and the decoction thus obtained, is strained and served hot in piles The milky latex of the plant is applied externally The fruits are powdered and taken with honey in the morning and evening for a week The milky juice of the branches is applied The leaves are applied as poultice The bark with black pepper is used Tender leaves are beneficial when used along with butter fat to cover the inflammatory ulcers The seeds powder is given for 3 days during menses The dried and powdered fruits are taken in water for 14 days Powder of bark is used The roots and leaf ash are taken to cure night blindness Dry powder of the leaves mixed with mustard oil is used externally on inches and eczema The leaves boiled with rice, garlic and water are rubbed on body Two grams of root paste with cow’s milk is taken by the women for abortion
Menispermaceae
Tinospora cardifolia (Willd.) Miers Ex Hook F. and Thomas (Neem giloy)
Whole plant, stem
Jaundice and fever
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Urticaria Elephantiasis Asthma Leucorrhoea
Moraceae
Ficus benghalensis Linn. (Bargad)
Tender ends of the aerial roots, latex, fruits, leaves, bark
Obstinate vomiting
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Piles
Boils and blisters Spermatorrhoea
Cracked heels Abscesses Snake bites Ficus religiosa Linn. (Pipal.) Leaves, bark, seeds, fruits Inflammatory ulcers.
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Prevent conception forever Asthma Fishula of anus Nyctaginaceae Boerhaavia diffusa Linn. (Sarti) Roots, leaves Night blindness Eczema
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Rheumatism Abortifacient
Table 1 (Continued ) Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Argemone maxicana Linn. (Satyanasi) Part used Disease cured by the plant Eczema and itching Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
Papavaraceae
Seed oil, seed root
Piles Toothache Ophthalmic infection
Pedaliaceae
Pedalium murex Linn. (Bada gokhru)
Fruits leaves
Gonorrhea and dysuria Renal calculi
Sesamum indicum Linn. (Til)
Seeds, leaves
Amenorrhoea
Polyuria Pimples
Poaceae
Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers (Dubghas)
Whole plant, roots
Ophthalmia and sking problems Piles Chronic gleet Haematuresis and catarrhal ophthalmia To control blood pressure Dysentery
Cyperus rotundus L. (Motha)
Rhizomes
Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf. (Dab, Kusha)
Roots
Snake bite, irregular menstruation, dyspepsia, diarrhea Dysentery
The seeds are poured in ‘Mahua oil’ and are applied to eczema and itching Roots are burnt to provide heat in treatment of piles The smoke of the burning seeds is used to relieve toothache The ashes of burnt seeds filtered with a fine cloth and apply for ophthalmic infection The mucilaginous water produced from the fresh leaves is taken Decoction of whole fruit is used to treatment of renal calculi The decoction of the seeds with acorus, ‘pippali’ and ‘gur’ is given in amenorrhea A handful of the seeds are eaten daily The seeds with the bark of siris and vinegar are rubbed over pimples The fresh leaves are applied externally An infusion of the roots is used for stopping bleeding from piles Crushed roots mixed with curds are used The fresh expressed juice of the grass is useful About 100 g juice of the plant is taken daily The bulbous roots are scraped and pounded with green ginger, mixed with honey and given in cases of dysentery Juice of rhizomes is given orally
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A decoction of its roots is given in dysentery Roots pasted in rice water are given for three days in leucorrhoea Ash of the roots along with mustard oil is applied on wounds The juice of the root bark is applied externally The decoction of the root is given in fever The root powder is applied to old wounds and ulcers The powder of the stem bark is used A paste of the leaves and twigs in applied externally The leaves heated and tied up in thin cotton cloth are applied in rheumatism
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Leucorrhoea
Wounds Rhamnaceae Zizyphus nummularia (Brum. f.) Wt. et Arn. (Ber) Root, leaves, bark Gout and rheumatism
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Fever Wounds and ulcers Diarrhea Abscess, boils and carbundes Rheumatism
Salvadoraceae
Salvadora persica L. (Pilu)
Leaves
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Table 1 (Continued ) Family name Plant name (local name are given in parenthesis) Part used Disease cured by the plant scurvy Solanaceae Datura stramonium Linn. (Dhatura) Fruits, leaves Spasmodic asthma Mode of administration Usea (%) Statusb Abundancec
Solanum indicum Auct. non Linn. (Baigan Kateli)
Seeds
Inflammation of breast Rheumatism, lumbago, painful tumours, glandular inflammations such as mumps Dysuria
The juice of leaves is given in scurvy The smoking of the dried leaves and stem in a pipe is found successful in relieving spasmodic asthma and kindered affections A paste of its fruits with turmeric is used The local application of datura leaves proves most serviceable in relieving pain when applied in the form of poultice The decoction of the seeds given twice daily The vapour of the burning seeds relieves toothache The roots with small amount of sugar are boiled in water and are given to women to enhancing fertility The powder of the root is given daily with sugar, honey and long pepper in the doses of 1.7 g daily A decoction of the root is used with long pepper, ghee and honey A decoction of its root with black pepper and alligator pepper is an effective remedy for toning up the uterus of women who habitually miscarry The leaf juice is given in syphilis The decoction of the roots is given as bitter tonic for children during convalescenece from measles and given in gonorrhoea A decoction of the leaves is applied About half cup of plant decoction with a little quantity of ‘kala namak’ is taken twice a day till relief The bruised leaves are used to promote healing of wounds and in fistula The powder of seeds is a good anodyne and the watery infusion is similarly useful The dry fruits are powdered and are given in doses of 18 g with sugar and black pepper The infusion of the stem is used A decoction of the plant is used
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Toothache Solanum nigrum Linn. (Makoi) Roots To enhance fertility
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Withania somnifera Dunal (Ashgandh)
Root
Spermatorrhoea and debility Scrofula and consumption To stop habitual miscarriage
37
W
2
Verbinaceae
Clendendrum phlomidis Vent. (Arni)
Leaves, root
Syphilis Measles and gonorrhoe
14
W
3
Lantana camara L. Moldenke (Gendi)
Leaves
Rheumatism Tetanus
4
W
2
The healing of wounds and fistula Zygophyllaceae Peganum harmala (Harmal) Tribulus terrestris Linn. (Gokhuru) Seeds Asthma, colic and jaundice Gleet, spermatorrhoea, impotence Gonorrhoea Gravels, gout and kidney diseases
8
W
2
Whole plant, fruits, stem
25
W
4
a b c
Use (%) refers to percentage of people that use the plant in relation to total interviewees. Status refers to w: wild; c: cultivated plant. Abundance—1: rare, 2: common, 3: fairly common, 4: abundant.
2.3. Plant categorization Plants were classified in the categories of wild or cultivated and also classified into different types of growth forms (herbs, shrubs and trees).
2.4. Abundance of the plant species Abundance is the number of individuals of any species per sampling unit. Depending upon the number of plants, abundance is divided in four arbitrary groups. The groups are—rare, common, fairly common and abundant. 2.5. Knowledge about plants and their uses The Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the knowledge about medicinal plant and its correlation with age of survey samples (P
Fig. 2. Pie diagram showing plant parts used for medicines.
used to cure and mode of administration has been provided in Table 1. These plants were used for curing a total of 78 diseases ranging from simple stomach-ache to highly complicated male and female urinogenital disorders. Even jaundice and kidney stones were treated by them. Maximum number of plants was used for curing fever and rheumatism followed by piles, diarrhea and dysentery, asthma and ulcer (Fig. 3).
It was also found that different parts of a single plant may be used for curing many ailments, for example Citrullus colocynthis, a creaper which is used for curing leucoderma rheumatism, paronychia, amenorrhoea and constipation. Similarly, Zizyphus nummularia, a shrub roots, leaves and bark are used for treating different ailments (Table 1).
During the survey, it was observed that a more number of plants are used for curing female urinogenital problems compared to males. It was also found that people were hesitant in disclosing their knowledge. It is this knowledge that provides them recognition in the society and hence they do not want to share it. In many cases, it was also found that a bit of this knowledge has been lost during transmission in folklore from one generation to other. The villagers themselves said that, com-
Fig. 3. Number of plants used for treating various ailments.
pared to them their forefathers knew much more. It was also found that the local people are much concerned about the reduction of medicinal plants in the wild. Due to recent global shift towards herbal medicines, the pressures on the plant resources in nature have increased and the market is also fast expanding. 3.1. Medicinal plants used verses sampling age The knowledge about the total number of medicinal plants available in that area and used by the interviewees is positively correlated with their age (Spearman rank correlation test, r = 0.57 and 0.51, respectively, P
et al., 2005; Muthu et al., 2006).
And it was found that most of these plants are already known for similar uses. However, their recipes and the method of use in the majority of cases are different also the ingredients added and method of preparation are concerned. Some additional indigenous uses for some of these species have been recorded and given in the table. The survey result that women having more knowledge about medicinal plants and more in use of them can be attributed to the fact that unlike men, women are hesitant to disclose their gynecological problems and therefore find treatment in the community itself. Besides they are full time busy in household jobs as well as in farms, hence have little time to go to professional allopathic doctors. And the elderly people know more about the medicinal plants and their values over younger generation because they were more close to nature, more rigid in traditional belief and less influenced by magic allopathic drugs because of their long term harmful effects. The use of plants in medicine is booming up. Now in the developed countries also people are returning to nature. Use of traditional medicine is the mainstay of primary healthcare, virtually in all developing countries. The reasons for the frequent use of traditional medicine being (i) the strong association of people with local flora and their belief on traditional knowledge regarding plants as medicine, (ii) easy availability of local medicinal plants, (iii) relatively poor access to allopathic drugs and their high cost and (iv) lower economic profile of the rural people. 5. Conclusion It can be concluded from the study that the district has highly specialized indigenous vegetation with varied medicinal values. This district has great potential for cultivation of these xerophytic medicinal plants. Biodiversity in the district is under the perpetual stress of drought and unsustainable use. The rural people of Churu district inherit a rich traditional knowledge and documentation of this knowledge has provided novel information from the area. This will not only provide recognition of this undocumented knowledge but will also help in conservation of such rare, gradually vanishing important desert species. It will also provide new pharmacological dimensions for better health care of the human being regarding many ailments. Acknowledgement The grant of CSIR-JRF to Ms. Parveen is gratefully acknowledged. References
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